Mid-air assault: Man slapped during ‘panic attack’ on IndiGo flight found, now on way back home; family confirms contact in Assam

NEW DELHI/SILCHAR: IndiGo on Saturday barred from all its flights a passenger who had assaulted a co-passenger on a Mumbai-Kolkata flight. The 39-year-old man from Cachar, who was initially believed missing after being slapped on board the IndiGo flight on Friday, is now believed to be travelling back home to Cachar by train, officials said."Following due diligence, the incident involving an unruly customer has been formally reported to the relevant authorities for necessary action. In line with our commitment to discourage such unruly behaviour on board flights, the individual has been suspended from flying on any IndiGo flights, in accordance with regulatory provisions," IndiGo said Saturday. The IndiGo bar is for 30 days pending an inquiry after which a further decision under the provisions of the no-fly list for unruly flyers will be taken.It is up to other Indian airlines to decide whether they, too, want to put the man accused of assault on their no-fly lists till the legal process of putting him on the national no-fly list is completed.SP (Cachar) Numal Mahatta told media that the victim may have boarded a train to Silchar, and efforts are underway to establish direct contact with him. Senior police officers from Cachar said Assam police are working in close coordination with their Kolkata counterparts to track him down.The victim's family members confirmed contact with him at Barpeta station (in Assam), confirming that he was on his way back from from Kolkata. The victim had been working in a Mumbai gym and was headed home when he was allegedly assaulted on board the aircraft.The case gained widespread attention after a video showing the man being slapped by a co-passenger was widely circulated. The victim had suffered a panic attack when the aircraft was taxiing in Mumbai. He had started sobbing and walking in the aisle, requesting to be allowed to alight from the plane. At this time a passenger is seen on videos slapping this person as he was passing by his seat. All other passengers and airline crew immediately came to the victim's support.In Kolkata, Bidhannagar police said on X: "On Aug 1, 2025, a complaint was received from IndiGo regarding two Indian male passengers who were travelling on flight 6E-138 from Mumbai to Kolkata. During the flight, a heated altercation ensued between the two, following which (Hafijul Rahaman) slapped the other (Hossain Ahmed Majumder). Passenger declared unruly by the cabin crew of IndiGo and handed over to police. Legal action has been initiated."